The terrorist organizations and their backers responsible for the safety of the kidnapped UN soldiers

 DAMASCUS, (ST)_An armed group detained 43 U.N. peacekeepers during  fighting in Syria early Thursday and another 81 peacekeepers are trapped, the United Nations said.

According to AP, the peacekeepers were detained on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights during a “period of increased fighting between armed elements –terrorists- and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces,” the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. It said another 81 peacekeepers are “currently being restricted to their positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the 43 detained peacekeepers are from Fiji and are thought to be in the southern part of the area of separation. The 81 troops from the Philippines had their movements restricted.

“The situation is extremely fluid. Obviously, we are very concerned,” Dujarric said.

“We are dealing with non-state armed actors,” he said. “The command and control of these groups is unclear. We’re not in a position to confirm who is holding whom. Some groups self-identified as being affiliated with al-Nusra, however, we are unable to confirm it.”

The statement said the United Nations “is making every effort to secure the release of the detained peacekeepers,” who are part of UNDOF, the mission that has been monitoring a 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel after their 1973 war.

Philippines military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said in a statement later that Syrian ”rebels” demanded that the Filipino troops surrender their firearms, but the soldiers refused.

“They did not surrender their firearms as they may in turn be held hostage themselves. This resulted in a stand-off which is still the prevailing situation at this time,” Zagala  said.

The Security Council condemned the detention of the 43 peacekeepers and the restriction of movement of the other 81 and called for their immediate release. A rapidly drafted press statement blamed “Security Council-designated terrorist groups” and “members of non-state armed groups.”

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned the detainment of the U.N. detachment.

“This is a force that is responsible for peacekeeping around the world, and certainly we don’t think they should be a target of these type of efforts,” Psaki said.

 A source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said Thursday that  terrorist organizations kidnapped 43 soldiers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Syrian Golan.

The Syrian government holds the terrorist organizations and the sides backing them fully responsible for the safety of the kidnapped soldiers and demands their immediate release.

M.A.